Equinor Wins Sleipner B Lodging Approval as Mongstad Safety Orders Pile Up

Equinor secured regulatory clearance on Friday to use the living quarters on Sleipner B temporarily while refurbishment work proceeds on the platform, a piece of good news that landed alongside fresh safety enforcement at its onshore operations and a broker downgrade of the stock.

Norway's offshore industry regulator granted the approval for the accommodation units during the rebuild. The same watchdog, Havtil, was rather less accommodating toward Equinor's Mongstad refinery, issuing orders on Thursday to Equinor Mongstad and Crane Norway Vest after investigating a fatal lifting accident on 17 September 2025. Six regulatory breaches were identified on Equinor's side, and the company must now carry out remediation reviews and submit a plan of action.

Visund Repairs Take Shape

Preparation for repair work at Visund was under way on Friday, according to Reuters, after a fire in an electrical system forced Equinor to halt output and evacuate the platform. Some 36 people stayed aboard to handle logistics and secure the affected area. The site produces both oil and gas, with a capacity of 13.2 million cubic metres of gas per day.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Visund was expected to stay offline until 16 November, a date explicitly subject to change. The company has not pinned down a restart.

Guidance Raised, Afrodite Estimate Doubled

Roughly two weeks ago Equinor lifted its 2026 production growth forecast to about 4% from 3%, and reported adjusted operating profit of USD 12.35 billion for the third quarter of 2026. An appraisal well at the Afrodite discovery also pointed to recoverable gas and condensate volumes of 77–180 million barrels of oil equivalent — according to media reports, more than double the previous estimate. Equinor is weighing a subsea development tied back to Kvitebjørn.

Farther afield, the company and its partners decided to enter the second exploration period on offshore licences AUS 105 and AUS 106 in Argentina's Austral Basin, with exploration drilling pencilled in for 2028–2029, subject to permits and regulatory processes.

Buyback Rolls On

In a mandatory disclosure on Tuesday, Equinor reported buying about 265,000 of its own shares between 29 and 30 October at an average price of NOK 441.0372 per share. The purchases fall under the fourth tranche of the 2026 repurchase programme, announced on 28 October at a volume of up to USD 1,125 million and including the buyback of shares held by the Norwegian state. The full 2026 programme covers up to USD 3 billion.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, cut Equinor to "Underweight" from "Equal Weight" on Friday, according to media reports. The shares slipped 0.6% to EUR 37.70 on the day.